MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. - With excellent outings from senior Kyle Smith (Franklin Square, N.Y.) and freshman Joe CoFrancesco (Hamden, Conn.), the Mount Saint Mary College baseball team defeated Yeshiva University in a pair of Skyline Conference games on Sunday at Middletown High School.  The Knights (9-17 overall, 8-6 Skyline) won the opener, 9-1, and the second, 8-0.

Smith went the distance in game two and polished off the seven-inning gem with three strikeouts in the final inning.  The Franklin Square native yielded just three hits and struck out ten for his first victory of the season.

All nine batters in the Mount Saint Mary lineup recorded at least one hit, but it was junior Billy Casey (Marlboro, N.Y.) who put on a clinic at the plate.  Casey ripped three singles and a double to finish 4-for-4 with a run batted in.  Freshman Matt Prescia (Oakdale, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of runs batted in, while freshmen Michael Matuk (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Thomas McNoble (Breezy Point, N.Y.) each collected a pair of hits.

In game one, it was CoFrancesco who did the bulk of the work on the hill.  The freshman allowed just three hits and one unearned run, while striking out eight.  The victory was the first of his collegiate career.  Senior Brian O'Connor (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) struck out three over the final two innings to complete the effort for the Knights.

Sophomore Max Tecce (Glen Cove, N.Y.) lit up the Yeshiva pitching staff for four hits, two runs batted in, and a run scored.  Tecce recorded hits in his first four plate appearances and had a chance to go 5-for-5, but got under a pitch a flew out to center in his final at-bat.

Junior Louis Peisel (Brewster, N.Y.) was also swinging a hot bat in game one.  Peisel finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.  Senior Mike Umphlett (North Stonington, Conn.) went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

The Knights head into the final week of the season with a hold on fifth place in the Skyline.  They'll open the final week of the regular season with a non-conference game against New Paltz on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.